ALGORITHMIC JUSTICE THROUGH AN ISLAMIC LENS: INTEGRATING MAQASID AL-SHARIAH INTO FINTECH DECISION-MAKING MODELS
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Algorithmic Justic, Fintech Ethics, Islamic Finance
Abstract
The rapid expansion of financial technology has transformed global financial services through automated and data-driven decision-making processes. However, algorithmic systems in fintech often inherit biases and structural inequalities embedded within data, raising concerns about fairness, transparency, and ethical accountability. Islamic finance offers a holistic ethical framework grounded in Maqasid al-Shariah, which emphasizes the protection of faith, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth. This study aims to explore how these principles can be systematically integrated into fintech algorithmic decision-making models to promote algorithmic justice and enhance inclusivity for users in Muslim-majority economies. A qualitative design was employed involving content analysis of Islamic jurisprudence literature and expert interviews with scholars in Islamic finance, Shariah advisory, and fintech governance. The findings reveal that Maqasid al-Shariah provides both normative guidance and operational criteria for mitigating algorithmic harms, particularly in ensuring equitable access to financing, preventing exploitation, and protecting user data from unethical manipulation. The study also identifies a proposed framework for embedding Maqasid al-Shariah indicators into key stages of algorithmic governance, including data selection, risk scoring, and explainability mechanisms. The results conclude that the fusion of algorithmic decision-making with Islamic ethical objectives can strengthen justice, social welfare, and user trust in fintech ecosystems. Future implications highlight the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to develop Shariah-compliant algorithmic audit standards and regulatory policies for sustainable Islamic digital finance.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nina Anis, Rasha Al-Ansari, Hans Peters
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